With papacy, Leo XIV inherits Vatican money problems

The economic matters of the Catholic Church have long been cloudy and prone to scandal. – © AFP Fabrice Coffrini

Maxence d'Aversa

Together with the spiritual leadership of the 1.4 billion Catholics in the world, Pope Leo XIV now inherits the supervision of the poor finances of the Vatican – and the efforts of his predecessor to clean them up.

The worst state of the holy stool accounts was one of the topics that cardinals commissioned with the selection of a successor to Pope Francis, which, according to the Vatican, was discussed in front of the conclave.

The election that American Robert Francis Prevost – now Leo XIV – was allowed to continue Francis' urge to raise some arrangements, said Vatican Bank, known as the Institute for Religious Cervices (IOR).

“Francis has started the process, I am sure that Leo XIV will continue,” said Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, a French businessman who was appointed part of Francis in 2014 as part of a radical revision of the economic framework of the Holy See, said AFP.

The Vatican fulfills its coffers by directing hospitals, museums and a huge real estate portfolio together with donations from the believers.

Nevertheless, his finances run regularly in red.

In 2023, it reported a consolidated loss of almost 70 million euros ($ 79 million) for sales of 1.2 billion euros.

The economic matters of the Catholic Church have long been cloudy and prone to scandal.

In a meaningful example, the Banco Ambrosiano-a Bank majority, which is owned by the IOR, broke into the allegations of the money of money laundering mafia money.

The director Roberto Calvi was stuck by the London Blackfriars Bridge in the same year.

– resist – resist –

When Francis became Pope in 2013, things were not significantly improved.

The Italy's central bank recently suspended all bank card payments in the Vatican for its implementation against money laundering laws, and a year earlier the USA had added the tiny city -state to its list of countries that deal with money laundering.

In 2014, Francis created a special secretariat for the economy, which was reflected against corruption and increased the examination of the investments.

“There was no strong governance, the rules were not respected, we didn't have the right competence,” recalled de Franssu of his early days at IOR.

Francis once compared the efforts to fix the books with the books and clean them with a toothbrush that cleaned the Sphinx of Egypt with a toothbrush, but achieved some results, including the closure of almost 5,000 suspicious bank accounts.

The call of the Vatican improved: he joined the only euro payment area and was later praised by the Council of Europe for his fight against money laundering.

“We were more resistant than those who wanted to resist,” said de Franssu.

But there are problems.

The Italian cardinal Angelo Becciu, a former advisor to Francis, who once one of the most powerful personalities in the Vatican, was sentenced to five years and six months in prison in 2023.

He was one of 10 defendants in an attempt to focus on a catastrophic investment by the Vatican in a luxury building in London in 2021.

The accused included financiers, lawyers and former employees who accused a number of financial crimes in what prosecutors described as “faules predator and lucrative system”.

The study included the risky purchase of a building in London's upscale Chelsea district, which led to significant losses for the Vatican.

The scandal was particularly embarrassing, since the church funds used for such activities also came from Peter Pence, which was donated by the faithful for the Pope's charity organizations.

Becciu, who was previously removed from office and was robbed of his cardinal rights and rights and privileges, and therefore did not take part in the conclave that Leo XIV chose, submitted an appointment.

The continuing financial challenges for Leo include a decline in the donations of the loyal, increasing employee costs and a fragile retirement system.

Last year, Francis said that the latter can currently “guarantee the fulfillment of the pension obligation for future generations in the medium term”.